The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup (A.K.A France 2019) is about to begin. This year’s Women’s World Cup will feature 24 national teams battling for the top prize. The United States Women’s National Team looks to defend their World Cup title from four years ago in Canada where they defeated Japan in the final. The defending Olympic champions, Germany, are also looking to make some waves this year. The World Cup will be held in France at 9 stadiums in the cities of Lyon, Paris, Nice, Montpellier, Rennes, Le Havre, Valenciennes, Reims, and Grenoble. In the United States, FOX and FOX Sports will provide coverage of the games. You can also follow The Global Olympian for it’s coverage of the games. Additional information is also available at https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/.

May 27, 2019

Today the 2019 Games of the Small States of Europe were officially opened in the city of Budva, Montenegro. This marks the first time Montenegro has hosted the historic games. The opening ceremony was presented on a small stage, but with the big heart of a small country. It began at 21:00 local time with a rendition of The Beetles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, that was soon followed by an introduction into the Montenegrin poetry written by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. The main stars of the show, the athletes, then made their way to the stage. First was Andorra, followed by Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Montenegro. The flag of Montenegro was then presented and the national anthem of Montenegro “Oh Bright Dawn of May” was sung. The pace of the opening ceremony was lighting fast as one of the team members from the 2012 woman’s olympic handball team made her way to the stage with a torch in hand and lit the games cauldron. After the formalities were taken care of, the artistic presentation began. It featured the story of the creation of Budva, and an almost complete history of Montenegro that featured stories about resistance to Ottoman and Nazi occupation, and stories about Montenegrin cultural heroes. It also featured many traditional performers and modern dancers. One of the last segments of the opening ceremony was the rising of the GSSE flag, which undertaken by the best athletes from each nation. After this was completed the athletes and judges oaths were taken by Marija Jokovic and Nikola Marić. The President of Montenegro, the President of the European Olympic Committee, and the President of Montenegrin Olympic Committee then officially opened the games. The games will go from May 27 until June 1. It features 10 sports and around 750 athletes. Livestreaming is available at RTCG, RTV, and AlfaSports. You can also follow Global Olympian for its written reporting of the games.

Montenegro2019 Photo Gallery

One of this writer’s favorite finds on YouTube is a marble runs account known as Jelle’s Marble Runs. Every year they put on various marble racing (yes, that is thing) events. The pinnacle of the season is the Marblympics. It is Jelle’s take on the Olympics, but with marbles instead. This year is the 5th edition of the games. The games are hosted by the Oceanics team at the Seven Seas Stadium in Jelle’s workshop. The games began with an elaborate opening Ceremony that saw a rare appearance of King Triton, the ruler of the Oceanics team. Various members of the production team were also present (represented by a unique marble of course), and the teams processed in one by one. This year’s teams are Team Galatic, Savage Speeders, O’rangers, Chocolatiers, Raspberry Racers, Midnight Wisps, Jungle Jumpers, Pinkies, Mellow Yellow, Indigo Stars, Oceanics (the host team), Balls of Chaos, Hazers, Green Ducks, Thunderbolts, and Crazy Cat’s Eyes. The first event of the 2019 Marblympics, Underwater Race, was also held today at the Seven Seas Stadium. The event featured 4 marble heats, in an elimination format, that involved racing underwater and passing over various drops. The eventually winner of the event was the Savage Speeders (the most successful marblympics team). The next event will be held on April 23, 2019.

President Donald Trump issued only the second veto of his administration on Tuesday April, 16. He choose to veto a bill to withdraw US support for the Saudi-lead collation. The bill had received bipartisan support, but Trump claimed the bill was a “dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities.” The bill will now be returned to Congress, who will have the option to change it or try to override the veto.

Thanks for joining me! This is the first post of my new independent news blog. This serves as a test post for me. Please feel free to look around and enjoy all the features of my website.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton